Cry No More
by The Willow Maiden
Summary: Hermione is given a budgie for her seventh birthday, but little Alouette is almost more pain than she's worth.


**Cry No More**

Written for The Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition - Round One

_Disclaimer: I only own Alouette. Nothing else!_

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Alouette's POV

Alouette wanted out. The little budgie was experiencing a major bout of homesickness. Fluttering around her cage, tweeting in panic, she took in everything around her. It was all familiar; she had been there quite a while. However it was not a happy familiar, more a known horror. Alouette hated being there. The stark white roof was much too different from the open blue skies she missed so dearly, and the cream walls were so oppressing that she hardly dared to look at them.

Alouette was just starting to calm down from her fifth panic attack recently, when the front door opened. The budgie stopped moving completely, except for her little chest, moving a mile a minute with her breathing. Her wide eyes watched with apparent fascination as her young mistress walked straight towards her. However, more panic may have been a more correct description of her expressing judging by her reaction.

Little Alouette went wild. Her chirping was piercing and Hermione jumped back, her hands flying to her ears and tears forming in her eyes. Her little bird was distressed, and by being so, distressed her in turn. Alouette noticed this, and in her confusion, became silent.

"Alouette?" Came the small and timid voice. The confused bird tilted her head slightly and an inquisitive chirp escaped from her tiny beak.

"It's okay, I won't hurt you. You know that." Having no idea what her mistress was trying to get across, Alouette could only judge by the tone used. Being a smart bird, she got it right. Flapping twice, she landed on the cage floor, and poked her head as far as it would go through the bars. Her mistress approached and gently stroked her under her chin.

After Hermione was convinced that Alouette was calm, she slowly withdrew her finger, and reached to open the cage, but as soon as it opened, Alouette dropped her act. With great speed for a creature her size; she darted out the opening and was speeding around the room.

"Muuuuuuuuuuuum!" Called Hermione, "Alouette got out again!"

Mrs. Granger rushed in and quickly closed the door behind her. Having a budgie loose around the lounge was one thing, however if the bird had flight of the whole house, that would be a disaster. While Alouette had escaped plenty of times previously, and Hermione and her mother had gotten quite proficient at capturing her, Alouette, had finally worked out a strategy.

Hermione was only seven, and therefore quite small. Her mother was not exactly tall either. Little Alouette had been practicing, and was now quite sure she could reach the beams that ran across the top of the high walls. There was no way she could be reached there.

Hermione's POV

Hermione felt like crying. She had been so looking forward to getting a little bird for her birthday. Alouette was her reward for doing so well in her classes. Her Father had been so proud of her achievements, and had proposed the idea of a family pet, that after some consideration had become just her pet. However, the little budgie had been refusing to behave.

Alouette was not the average budgie you buy at a pet shop. She had been bought off Hermione's Aunt Marie who bread and trained birds. Alouette was a spirited bird, and Aunt Marie had recommended her as a brilliant pet for Hermione. Her parents had agreed, and Alouette became hers the day after she turned seven. Now, she couldn't work out why she had wanted such a misbehaved bird as her pet.

Wiping her eyes, Hermione focused on the task at hand. She had never been one to let emotion get in the way of a job, and she had no reason to start now. She and her mother went to opposite ends of the room and started their routine; unfortunately, the clever little budgie had worked out how to fly high enough to reach the beams. Getting over her initial shock, Hermione smiled. Maybe Alouette wasn't just misbehaved, maybe she was smart. That could be good.

Looking from the cage to her little budgie, she realized something. She hated it on the rare times that she was sent to her room, and maybe Alouette was the same. Slowly, an idea came to her.

"Mum, can you let me try to catch her this time? She is my pet, and I think I can manage."

Her mother smiled at her,

"Of course Hermione, it's great to see you taken some responsibility for her," and with that, she left.

Standing on her own, Hermione relocated herself, and sat on the couch. Picking up her book from the coffee table, she settled down and started to read. She got so interested in the book, that she didn't even notice Alouette fly down and sit on her shoulder.

It was only when her mother came to check on her that she looked up to see Alouette peering at her. She smiled at her mother, and slowly reached up to stroke the little bird's soft feathers. When she did so, a warm feeling spread from her heart right through to her finger. If she were focusing on Alouette, she would have noticed how the little bird had glowed, but she was to busy focusing on the strange feeling within her.

Alouette's POV

It was sudden, the change occurred when she submitted to her mistress, but the evidence only appeared as Hermione stroked her. Flapping a few times, Alouette repositioned herself on her mistresses knew so that she could look her in the eye. If only she could speak, she could explain what had happened. She knew communication would come with time though, and she could be patient. This bond had just extended her life span by more years than she could be bothered thinking about.

Alouette knew her mistress knew nothing of their bond and it's significance, nut one day she would. One thing was for sure though; Alouette would be making her mistress cry no more. That was her role as Familiar.

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Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed. Please review and let me know what you think. ~Willow


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